LOURDES Hill College, Hawthorn, was the venue for an unplanned reunion between an acclaimed Australian author and one of his primary school teachers.
College principal Narelle Mullins said David Malouf visited the college recently to speak about his first novel in 10 years, Ransom.
“A lovely piece of serendipity occurred during his visit,” Ms Mullins said.
“In the postscript to the novel, David Malouf speaks about the event which triggered his thought processes into a yearning to write a novel about the Trojan Wars.
“His primary school teacher, Miss Findlay told a story about Troy which she did not have time to finish.
“This untold story stayed with David Malouf to eventually blossom into this novel.
“It was wonderful to witness the totally unplanned reunion between David Malouf and Miss Findlay on this special occasion.
“She is now a frail, but very sharp, 94 years of age”.
Ms Mullins said it was also a delight to hear David read from the novel and to answer questions regarding his writing and his love of story.
She said Malouf was one of two acclaimed authors to visit the college recently.
“Geoffrey Robertson took a large audience of over 500 people through a potted version of the history of human rights activism.”
Ms Mullins said students from legal studies classes learned much from his insights.
